Already guaranteed $782,000 and a spot at the most prestigious final table in poker this November, Matt Giannetti came to Europe mostly just to get some tournament Texas Holdem hands in.

Two weeks in he’s already added another €200,000 to his bankroll, won the first-ever World Poker Tour Malta Championship and secured a 25k seat in the WPT World Championship at the Bellagio in April.

Still, according to Giannetti, he used up a bit too much run-good to win his first WPT title at the Casino de Portomaso in Malta last night.

Despite playing extremely solid for most of the tournament, Giannetti had a few up-and-down stretches at the final table before he sealed the win.

It even looked like he was going to be eliminated in third when he got his short stack in with sevens against Italian wild card Cecilia Pescaglini's kings.

A seven on the turn saved him, however, and he ended up riding that momentum all the way to the finish.

In his post-win interview with tournament director Matt Savage, Giannetti called his play three-handed “not something he wanted to repeat," and even tweeted shortly after:

“God damn, I am a lucksack, so mad how I played, way too much run good expended... Happy I won but feel like I don't deserve it.”

Pescaglini takes home €116,700 as a consolation prize – by far the biggest live score of her career, but not enough to keep her from shedding a few tears after falling just short of becoming the first-ever female WPT champion.

Finishing in third was Filippo Bianchini, who managed to make it through five hours of three-handed play with Giannetti and Pescaglini before bowing out and collecting €76,820.

Before the epic three-handed battle began, the first three eliminations at the final table came in just 19 hands.

Short stack Fabien Sartoris (€30,730) was eliminated on just the second hand when he shoved K9 from the button, got called by Simon Trumper in the big blind with fives and couldn't catch up.

Chip leader coming into the day Tristan Clémençon (€39,810) was next to go on hand #13, getting it in good with kings against Pescaglini’s AK but seeing an ace hit on the river.

Trumper went out in fourth (€53,430) on hand #19 when he lost a flip with sevens to Pescaglini’s A-8.

With the win Giannetti’s lifetime live tournament earnings jump to over $1.5 million. Giannetti enters the 2011 WSOP final table third in chips with 24,750,000.

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